Child of Light

        I've found that one of my favorite things to do as a mother is to watch my children sleep. There is something angelic about a sleeping child/baby and I believe it gives me an opportunity to view peace in one of its purest forms. A few nights ago, I was watching my four year old and my baby girl (who is just a few days shy of one) rest peacefully in our king-sized bed. I began to think of how parents go to great lengths to protect their children, as we should. I mean seriously, think about the things we do and do not do for our children. We take on a role as the protector immediately upon seeing their faces. Before making decisions, Brent and I will come together and discuss the affects it will have on our children. We know that we live in a cruel world and that Satan will take any open door to get to our children; this is something we take very seriously. I expect this to be the case with many who read this blog and I also think this is perfectly normal and healthy. Jesus Christ desires that we love our children, value them, and protect them in any way possible from darkness, but in this we often forget that we are children of God and within us is much value.
   
        If we really believed that within us is the light of the world, wouldn't we live a much different life? I know there is a lot that would change for me if I constantly held on tightly to that in every situation. When I think of light of the world, I see that children of God are the ONLY hope for the world. Look around at the world we live in; it is darker than ever, but light shines the brightest in darkness. The scripture says that God knew us before we were even in our mother's womb. He ordained works for me to do before I was even here, therefore I must be pretty special (Jer 1:5) . If he ordained works for me to do, then he has also put gifts in me to get those things accomplished which just makes me that much more valuable.

       I've often wondered how it would affect others if my life were to suddenly end? If this sounds ludicrous to you, I challenge you to do it for yourself. The results I came up with were vast. First of all, there is the obvious that my husband would be without a wife and my children would grow up without their mother, but it gets so much more impactful than that. What would our kingdom business look like? What would happen to those people who are going to come to Christ in the future because God is using me as a vessel on the earth? This really puts things in perspective for me and shows me the gift that I truly am. This revelation has given me what I like to refer to as "grit." Because I'm coming to know who I am, I can endure things in the world from others who don't know who I am. I can endure circumstances because I have faith that what God has ordained will come to pass and I will see it. This changes everything.